The Honda CRX was Motor Trends Import Car of the Year for 1984 and it also made Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1985. Later, the redesigned CRX was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1988 and also was Motor Trends Import Car of the Year for 1988. This prized model was originally launched as the Honda Ballade Sports CRX in Japan, as a compact sports car manufactured by Honda. The first generation CRX was sold in some regions outside Japan under the moniker Honda Civic CRX. The name 'CRX' and what it stands for is widely under debate with the most popular meaning being "Civic Renaissance eXperimental". Nevertheless, it was first produced in 1984 and was a lightweight sport hatchback. In the North American market, the CRX was marketed as an economy vehicle that had room for just two passengers. Japanese and European markets, however, received a more powerful ZC 130 hp engine and 2+2 seats. The original 1.3 liter car and the American-market model could reliably achieve better than 50 mpg. This was of course more than a decade before gas-electric hybrids appeared on the market. What made it even better was that it did not come as a price premium. Further, the 1.3 liter was rated at 52 mpg for city driving and 57mpg highway. These numbers are nothing short of magnificent and things would really be so much better today if more cars offered this type of performance with regards to fuel efficiency. A few changes were made as the years went by, and specifically, the chassis was significantly altered in 1988 from its original version. Additionally, although it looked very similar overall to the original, the body was also changed along the way. Honda had another big hit on their hands ' something they are getting quite used to.